Torenia hybrid"Amethyst"Scrophulariaceae

Torenia hybrid "Amethyst" is a charming little annual that we started growing for a graduate student's research project. These small plants with dark green foliage reach only 1 foot (30 cm) tall by 10 inches (25 cm) wide. They are easy to grow and make attractive container plants or for use in the landscape. An unusual behavior of Torenia is that they all seem to have tactile stigmas: the two stigma lobes close together upon being touched!

Blooming Time: In the greenhouse, they will bloom all year long. In landscape settings, they will bloom from late spring to fall.

Culture:Torenia hybrid "Amethyst" need partial shade to full sun in cooler climates with a well-drained soil. In the greenhouse, we use a soil mix consisting of 2 parts peat moss to 1 part loam to 1 part sand or perlite. The soil is kept moist at all times and plants are fertilized on a weekly basis with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label. Once established plants begin to bloom there is a non-stop flower show for the season and very little trimming is needed.

Propagation:Torenia hybrid "Amethyst" are best propagated from seed. Plants started from seed bloom in about 4 weeks.

Torenia hybrid "Amethyst" was featured as Plant of the Week February 14-20, 2003.